ARTICLES ABOUT LA BAMBA BY DATE - PAGE 2

Body parts found this week encased in cement and hidden above a Morton Grove restaurant were those of a man who was shot in the back of the neck, the Cook County medical examiner determined Friday. Officials were awaiting medical and dental records before attempting to identify the victim, said Edmund Donoghue, chief medical examiner. Police said they did not know whether the discovery Wednesday on the roof of El Sol Restaurant, 6000 Dempster St., was related to the disappearance of restaurateur Enrico Martin Silva in August 1998.

Workers repairing the roof of a Morton Grove restaurant Wednesday morning discovered what appeared to be human remains, police said. The owner of a restaurant at that location disappeared five years ago, and police at the time said they suspected foul play. He never resurfaced. Morton Grove police declined to say Wednesday night whether there was a connection between the remains and the 1998 missing person case. But the wife of the missing restaurateur, Enrico Martin Silva, arrived at the scene late Wednesday with Silva's half-brother.

Hispanics can scarcely be described as minorities any longer in the U.S.A., and likewise a mere month is barely adequate to dive deeply in the pool of Latino culture. But 1999's Hispanic Heritage Month, Sept. 15-Oct. 15, offers a wealth of opportunities in which to immerse yourself. The Chicago Public Library starts it off a day early with an opening celebration Tuesday from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Rudy Lozano Branch, 1805 S. Loomis St. Nelson Sosa's bilingual "La Bamba" program takes you on a musical journey through Central and South America and the Caribbean, showing how geography and customs shape the areas' music.

Los Lobos This Time (Hollywood) Roots rock's answer to the prolific Wu-Tang Clan, the members of Los Lobos have spread themselves dangerously thin in recent years with side projects, including the Latin Playboys, a Cesar Rosas solo album and David Hidalgo's Houndog project. Perhaps that's why ever since the sonically adventurous "Kiko" (1992), Los Lobos albums have come up a bit short in the song department. But in their place have come more alluring lyrics ("How come the days do what they do?"

The true story of 1950s singing star Frankie Lymon -- who had three wives at the same time -- is told in the movie "Why Do Fools Fall in Love," which has its first HBO showing at 8 p.m. Saturday. For the following singers, name the actors who played them in movie biographies: QUESTIONS 1) Loretta Lynn. 2) Buddy Holly. 3) Tina Turner. 4) Jim Morrison. 5) Ritchie Valens. 6) Selena. ANSWERS 1) Sissy Spacek ("Coal Miner's Daughter," 1980). 2)

The Tony Phillips memorial couch was missing from the White Sox clubhouse before Monday's game. In it's place was a little blue crib. The couch was where Phillips frequently crashed before day games. He was on it again Sunday morning while the rest of his teammates were participating in a club-mandated autograph session for the fans. Though Phillips was seen signing autographs outside the park after the game, his failure to join his teammates in the session brought him some media criticism.

By all rights, the Los Angeles band Los Lobos should be at least as popular in Mexico as, say, 4 Non Blondes. Or Pet Shop Boys. Or any other middle-of-the-road pop group that, inexplicably, becomes a hit in Mexico. Los Lobos, after all, gives new life to traditional Latin music with updated renditions of Mexican pop and folk standards. The group's own compositions often reflect those traditions. And its lyrics tell stories and capture emotions about the Mexican experience in the United States in a way few other groups can match.

She peered out over the sea of white, middle-aged faces, frowned and turned to a member of the San Francisco panel. "Where's our voice?" she asked, genuinely puzzled. "Where ... is the black press?" Later that same afternoon, N'Bushe Wright, a young dancer-turned-actress, shared her concern with a white, middle-aged critic. She was nearing the end of a monthlong promotional tour for her first film, "Zebrahead," and suddenly something that had nagged at her from Boston to Philadelphia to Chicago found voice: She was pushing a tough movie about inter-racial romance to the wrong crowd, the wrong messengers-the white establishment press.

Buddy lives-no longer at the downtown Shubert Theatre, where the national touring company of the London and Broadway musical about Buddy Holly recently closed out a successful run, but now at the Uptown home of Pegasus Players in the O`Rourke Center of Truman College, where a brand new company, soon to set out on a nine-month cross-country tour of smaller theaters and auditoriums, opened its own premiere engagement of the rousing rock `n` roll show....

In 1990, Los Lobos released a terrific record, "The Neighborhood"-and nobody cared. The album got generally glowing reviews, but it sold modestly and quickly dropped off the pop charts. After a decade of critical acclaim and only three years after launching the "La Bamba" craze in the summer of 1987, the quintet began to doubt its relevance. "We weren`t sure if we had run our course," says saxophonist Steve Berlin. "We found ourselves in this bizarre gray area, feeling sort of muddled because we thought it was a big step forward for us but everyone else was indifferent to the record."